Book of the Dead

The economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) still very much depends on the country’s oil and natural gas exports. Seeing prices of both experiencing ups and downs many oil and gas exporting nations see a huge decline in their profits. The OPEC member states tried to counter this by reducing their production and thus exports to create a shortage and drive prices to a more favorable price range. This measure has not proven to be very successful though, the world is changing and many western states who have been the main buyer of those natural resources are eager to change their economies from a fossil fuel-driven economy to renewable energy-driven economy. For a country that is close to the land where the Book of the Dead story takes part, that is indeed bad news. A further advance in technological possibilities allows countries like Canada and the United States to use fracking to exploit their own oil resources. In fact, the United States made an incredible switch from the biggest oil and gas importer to one of the biggest oil and gas sellers on the global markets.

But this change does not only affect the UAE and its neighbors. It pretty much affects all of the Middle Eastern countries even those who are not oil and gas exporters and do not have those natural resources in their own country. The land of one of the oldest civilizations on earth, Egypt, for example, is also heavily affected by that development. The country between the river Nile, where the Book of the Dead emerged, is also used to get their part from the big oil and gas cake and cash in. There is an endless convoy of tankers passing the Suez canal each and every day and Egypt chargers every single ship who wishes to make this passage. Fewer ships mean fewer charges being paid and that ultimately has an effect on the Egyptian economy as well. So maybe the prophecy of the Book of the Dead is true after all, maybe it was just talking about an economical death?

What does that mean for the UAE? It basically means that the UAE and its neighbors are forced to change their economic model as well. The UAE has to build a second economy that is not based on the exports of its natural resources. There is some good news here as well though because the UAE realized that already and the country’s leaders are already trying to make that change. The UAE relies on foreign skills and tries to attract foreign experts to assist with their projects. The country decided to not only focus on one single field of expertise but to heavily invest in several sectors at the same time. Some examples are the medical field, the technological field, online businesses, the real estate market and the transportation of people and cargo by air. So far it seems like those massive investments are paying off and the UAE are going to be successful in making an economical change the world has never seen before. So maybe the Book of the Dead is totally wrong after all? At least from some countries.